6 MacBook lifehacks for beginners
Share files with the entire family
Transferring a file from one Apple device to another is easy when using AirDrop. If I want to transfer photos from my MacBook to my partners MacBook, or if I want to transfer videos from my iPhone to my MacBook, all I've got to do is select the right photo's and indicate I want to share them via Airdrop. I have to keep both devices closely together in order to do so.
Use special characters such as é and ö
When typing an email or other text, I occasionally need an e with a dash (accent aigu for the French) or an o with two dots (the well-known umlaut). On a MacBook, I can simply add those characters by pressing a letter key longer. If I press the e key, I get a pop-up of all special characters with an e. It works exactly the same for the i, o, u, and so on.
Add an emoji
Did a colleague make a bad joke? (What is an astronaut's favorite key on a computer keyboard? The space bar.) As far as I'm concerned, a crying emoji is the only logical reaction. To add an emoji, open the emoji keyboard by pressing the Command, Control and Space bar simultaneously. I can also use the Touch Bar on my Macbook Pro to replace my typed text with an emoji. If I type 'apple' or 'pie', the Touch Bar will show the right emoji.
Change Delete to Backspace, or vice versa
The MacBook keyboard either has a Backspace key or a Delete key. That's not always useful when I want to quickly remove something in the middle of a text. To change Delete to Backspace - or vice versa - I hold the fn key while removing text. This tip is especially useful for everyone who made the leap to Apple for the first time and is still used to a keyboard with both keys.
All your open programs side by side
Multitasking is a breeze on MacBook, so I often have many different programs open at the same time. If I want to jump from Spotify to Photoshop quickly, I use a simple motion. By placing 3 fingers side by side on the touchpad and then sliding them up, I get to see all open programs.
Adjust volume in smaller steps
Especially when I use my earbuds on YouTube, I like to be able to control the volume fairly precisely. I do this by holding down the Shift and Option keys while using the volume keys. The volume then changes in steps that are 4 times smaller than normal. I also use the same trick for screen brightness and keyboard lighting.
